Mexico City’s Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez witnessed a thrilling duel between rising star Taylor Gray and hometown hero Daniel Suárez. The Xfinity Series battle came down to inches, with Suárez claiming victory, beating Gray to the checkered flag by 0.598 seconds. For Gray, the outcome hinged on a single pivotal moment.
The 20-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing driver dissected the race with surgical precision afterward. While the grandstands roared for Mexico’s native hero, Gray focused purely on racing dynamics. His analysis revealed how external factors tipped the scales in Saturday’s Chilango 150.
Taylor Gray Reflects on Late Caution Resetting Daniel Suárez’s Fading Advantage
Gray identified the final caution as the turning point. Before the yellow flag flew, he’d been methodically hunting down Suárez. His Toyota GR Supra thrived in long runs, exposing Suárez’s weakening brakes in critical zones.
“I feel like I raced Daniel like I would’ve anybody else, right. Him being from Mexico and, everyone cheering him on, and having a huge crowd there for him. I wouldn’t say no. That didn’t decide the factor of me going out and trying to pass Daniel by any means. I felt like before that last caution came out was probably my best opportunity,” Gray revealed.
“I felt like we were better in the long run and he was starting to fade in the braking zones and I was really able to make up time on him through the braking zones.”
“Mad, frustrated, sad.”@Taylor_Gray was right there at the end, but has to settle for second. pic.twitter.com/KbZjCn7EWv
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) June 14, 2025
The caution erased Gray’s momentum. Suárez gained precious recovery time during the pause. “Once that last caution came out, it gave him the opportunity to cool down his stuff and cool down the brakes and able to kind of get his pedal back underneath him for a few laps there,” Gray explained.
When racing resumed, Suárez’s revived performance forced Gray to mount another charge from scratch. Gray’s late-race surge nearly succeeded. He closed dramatically in the final corners but ran out of laps. “I started reeling him in and chasing ’em down and chasing ’em down and just kind of ran outta time,” he noted.
Despite finishing second in a close nose-to-bumper run at Mexico City, Gray remained optimistic and praised the team effort, saying post-race, “It was a good points day overall for us. I can’t thank everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing enough.”
Gray’s Sportsmanship Defines Mexico City’s Final Laps Drama
The duel intensified with three laps left. Gray accidentally forced Suárez onto the grass in Turn 2, a move that sparked debate about track limits. But Gray immediately backed off, refusing to capitalize on the incident.
“Taylor Gray says Suárez should not have gotten a penalty,” reported insider Jeff Gluck. “Gray says he forced Suárez into the grass by accident and then let Suárez gather it back up because he didn’t feel like it would be right to take the lead then.”
Taylor Gray, answering a question from @bobpockrass, says Suarez should not have gotten a penalty. Gray says he forced Suarez into the grass by accident and then let Suarez gather it back up because he didn’t feel like it would be right to take the lead then.
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) June 14, 2025
This mirrored Gray’s personal racing ethos. “I’ve said it a couple times this week or this past weekend. I’m not gonna just go wreck a guy to win the race,” he declared. “It’s not satisfying to me. It’s not who I am. So yeah, I thought it was a, it was a good fun race.” The decision cost him his position but earned respect.
The runner-up finish pushed him to 12th in the standings, another step toward his elusive first win.
